Customer Reviews

A Hero and the Holocaust: The Story of Janusz Korczak and His Children

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This is a phenomenal book! Janusz Korczak, a writer, physician, and the ultimate child advocate, was also a great soul; indeed, if he had been born a Catholic he would be made a saint. He was a mixture of Dr. Benjamin Spock, Florence Nightingale, Patch Adams, and Mahatma Gandhi--rolled into one!

Choosing to stay with the orphans in the Jewish orphanage he directed, he protected the children through their forced move into the Warsaw Ghetto, and then to the death camp Treblinka. His diary is quoted throughout and we see a man who was very much afraid but who conquered his fears so that he could serve the tiny humanity in the person of the children in his care. Indeed, at one point he could have saved his own life if he had abandoned the children, but he refused to do so. The book ends with a quote from his diary which gives us true insight into his character: "I never wish anyone ill. I cannot. I don't know how it is done."

His life should have been one of happiness and fulfillment, of just deserved rewards for his goodness to others; however, like so many others, the Nazis terminated this great man far too soon. The illustrations are marvelous! They are rather like well done photographs.

Many heroes arose during the holocaust but many are not remembered as well as they should be. This was a great story about courage and duty. It is a true story and Janusz Korczak was a true hero and should be thought of as much as Ann Frank or others from that time period.

The illustrations are excellent as well.

I highly recommend this. It tackles the subject with the sensativity that young children require yet introduces the subject to them and as it is an important part of history and culture, it is a good way to do it. The children can learn there was evil in the world but courage was also there. They will focus on the bravery and heroics while learning a tidbit about that time period.

From the time of his early boyhood in Warsaw, Poland, to his untimely death at the hands of the Nazis in 1942, Janusz Korczak cared for and loved children, especially those who others shunned. And the children all loved him. This beautifully illustrated book, tenderly tells the life story of the "Old Doctor" and how he ran his orphanages, both the original Children's Home he established on Krochmalna Street in 1912 and the one he was forced to set up when he and all his charges were forced into the Warsaw Ghetto after the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939. What makes this book particularly suitable for young readers is how David Adler portrays both Korczak's tenderness and courage. It's a sad but life-affirming story of a man all children should know about, a man who loved children, devoted his life to them, and refused to leave them in the end. Young children need a hero like Dr. Korczak.